Etymology

It is likely that the word "Brazil" comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast.[24] In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology "red like an ember", formed from Latin brasa ("ember") and the suffix -il (from -iculum or -ilium).[25] As brazilwood produces a deep red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil.[26] Throughout the 16th century, massive amounts of brazilwood were harvested by indigenous peoples (mostly Tupi) along the Brazilian coast, who sold the timber to European traders (mostly Portuguese, but also French) in return for assorted European consumer goods.[27]

The official Portuguese name of the land, in original Portuguese records, was the "Land of the Holy Cross" (Terra da Santa Cruz),[28] but European sailors and merchants commonly called it simply the "Land of Brazil" (Terra do Brasil) on account of the brazilwood trade.[29] The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name. Early sailors sometimes also called it the "Land of Parrots" (Terra di Papaga).[30]

In the Guarani language, an official language of Paraguay, Brazil is called "Pindorama". This was the name the indigenous population gave to the region, meaning "land of the palm trees".[31]

Around the time of the Portuguese arrival, the territory of current day Brazil had an estimated indigenous population of 7 million people,[35] mostly semi-nomadic who subsisted on hunting, fishing, gathering, and migrant agriculture. The indigenous population of Brazil comprised several large indigenous ethnic groups (e.g. the Tupis, Guaranis, Gês and Arawaks). The Tupí people were subdivided into the Tupiniquins and Tupinambás, and there were also many subdivision of the other groups.[36]

Before the arrival of Europeans, the boundaries between these groups and their subgroups were marked by wars that arose from differences in culture, language and moral beliefs.[37] These wars also involved large-scale military actions on land and water, with cannibalistic rituals on prisoners of war.[38][39] While heredity had some weight, leadership status was more subdued over time, than allocated in succession ceremonies and conventions.[40]Slavery among the Indians had a different meaning than it had for Europeans, since it originated from a diverse socio-economic organization, in which asymmetries were translated into kinship relations.[41]

Portuguese colonization

The land now called Brazil was claimed for the Portuguese Empire on 22 April 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral.[42] The Portuguese encountered indigenous peoples divided into several tribes, most of whom spoke languages of the Tupi–Guarani family, and fought among themselves.[43] Though the first settlement was founded in 1532, colonization was effectively begun in 1534, when King DomJoão III of Portugal divided the territory into the fifteen private and autonomous Captaincy Colonies of Brazil.[44][45]

By the end of the 17th century, sugarcane exports began to decline,[57] and the discovery of gold by bandeirantes in the 1690s would become the new backbone of the colony's economy, fostering a Brazilian Gold Rush[58] which attracted thousands of new settlers to Brazil from Portugal and all Portuguese colonies around the world. [59] This increased level of immigration in turn caused some conflicts between newcomers and old settlers.[60]

With the end of the Peninsular War in 1814, the courts of Europe demanded that Queen Maria I and Prince Regent João return to Portugal, deeming it unfit for the head of an ancient European monarchy to reside in a colony. In 1815, in order to justify continuing to live in Brazil, where the royal court had thrived for the past six years, the Crown established the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves, thus creating a pluricontinental transatlantic monarchic state.[69] However, such a ploy didn't last long, since the leadership in Portugal resentful with the new status of its larger colony, continued to require the return of court to Lisbon (as postulated by the Liberal Revolution of 1820), as well as groups of Brazilians, impatient for practical and real changes still demanded independence and a republic, as showed by the 1817 Pernambucan Revolt.[69] In 1821, as a demand of revolutionaries who had taken the city of Porto,[70] D. João VI was unable to hold out any longer, and departed for Lisbon. There he swore oath to the new constitution, leaving his son, Prince Pedro de Alcântara, as Regent of the Kingdom of Brazil.[71]

Independent Empire

Tensions between Portuguese and Brazilians increased, and the Portuguese Cortes, guided by the new political regime imposed by the 1820 Liberal Revolution, tried to re-establish Brazil as a colony.[72] The Brazilians refused to yield, and Prince Pedro decided to stand with them, declaring the country's independence from Portugal on 7 September 1822.[73] A month later, Prince Pedro was declared the first Emperor of Brazil, with the regnal title of Dom Pedro I, resulting in the foundation of the Empire of Brazil.[74]

The Brazilian War of Independence, which had already begun along this process, spread through northern, northeastern regions and in Cisplatina province.[75] With the last Portuguese soldiers surrendering on 8 March 1824,[76] Portugal officially recognized Brazil on 29 August 1825.[77]
On 7 April 1831, worn down by years of administrative turmoil and political dissensions with both liberal and conservative sides of politics, including an attempt of republican secession,[78] as well as unreconciled with the way that absolutists in Portugal had given to the succession of King John VI, Pedro I went to Portugal to reclaim his daughter's crown, abdicating the Brazilian throne in favor of his five-year-old son and heir (who thus became the Empire's second monarch, with the regnal title of Dom Pedro II).[79]

As the new Emperor could not exert his constitutional powers until he became of age, a regency was set up by the National Assembly.[80] In the absence of a charismatic figure who could represent a moderate face of power, during this period a series of localized rebellions took place, as the Cabanagem, the Malê Revolt, the Balaiada, the Sabinada, and the Ragamuffin War, which emerged from the dissatisfaction of the provinces with the central power, coupled with old and latent social tensions peculiar of a vast, slaveholding and newly independent nation state.[81] This period of internal political and social upheaval, which included the Praieira revolt, was overcome only at the end of the 1840s, years after the end of the regency, which occurred with the premature coronation of Pedro II in 1841.[82]

On 15 November 1889, worn out by years of economic stagnation, in attrition with the majority of Army officers, as well as with rural and financial elites (for different reasons), the monarchy was overthrown by a military coup.[88]

Early republic

The "early republican government was little more than a military dictatorship, with army dominating affairs both at Rio de Janeiro and in the states. Freedom of the press disappeared and elections were controlled by those in power".[89] In 1894, following the unfoldings of two severe crises, an economic along with a military one, the republican civilians rose to power.[90][91][92]

Little by little, a cycle of general instability sparked by these crises undermined the regime to such an extent, that in the wake of the murder of his running mate, the defeated opposition presidential candidate Getúlio Vargas supported by most of the military, successfully led the Brazilian Revolution of 1930.[93][94] Vargas was supposed to assume power temporarily, but instead closed the Congress, extinguished the Constitution, ruled with emergency powers and replaced the states' governors with his own supporters.[95][96]

In half of the first 100 years of republic in Brazil, the Army exercised power directly or through figures like Getúlio Vargas (center).

In the 1930s, three major attempts to remove Vargas and his supporters from power occurred. The first was the failed Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932, the second was the anti-fascist Brazilian uprising of 1935 led by communists, and the fascist Integralist Movement attempted a coup in May 1938.[97][98][99] The 1935 uprising created a security crisis in which the Congress transferred more power to the executive. The 1937 coup d'état resulted in the cancellation of the 1938 election, installed Vargas as a dictator, and began the Estado Novo era, noted for government brutality and censorship of the press.[100]

With the allied victory in 1945 and the end of the Nazi-fascist regimes in Europe, Vargas's position became unsustainable and he was swiftly overthrown in another military coup, with Democracy being "reinstated" by the same army that had discontinued it 15 years before.[108] Vargas committed suicide in August 1954 amid a political crisis, after having returned to power by election in 1950.[109][110]

The new regime was intended to be transitory[118] but it gradually closed in on itself and became a full dictatorship with the promulgation of the Fifth Institutional Act in 1968.[119] The oppression was not limited to only those who resorted to guerrilla tactics to fight the regime, but also reached institutional opponents, artists, journalists and other members of civil society,[120][121] inside and outside the country (through the infamous "Operation Condor").[122][123] Despite its brutality, like other totalitarian regimes in history, due to an economic boom, known as an "economic miracle", the regime reached its highest level of popularity in the early 1970s.[124]

Slowly however, the wear and tear of years of dictatorial power that had not slowed the repression, even after the defeat of the leftist guerrillas,[125] plus the inability to deal with the economic crises of the period and popular pressure, made an opening policy inevitable, which from the regime side was led by Generals Geisel and Golbery.[126] With the enactment of the Amnesty Law in 1979, Brazil began its slow return to democracy, which would be completed during the 1980s.[82]

Civilians returned to power in 1985 when José Sarney assumed the presidency, becoming unpopular during his tenure due to his failure in controlling the economic crisis and hyperinflation inherited from the military regime.[127] Sarney's unsuccessful government allowed the election in 1989 of the almost unknown Fernando Collor, who was subsequently impeached by the National Congress in 1992.[128]

Brazil is the only country in the world that has the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn running through it. It is also the only country to have contiguous territory both inside and outside the tropics. Brazilian topography is also diverse and includes hills, mountains, plains, highlands, and scrublands. Much of the terrain lies between 200 metres (660 ft) and 800 metres (2,600 ft) in elevation.[145] The main upland area occupies most of the southern half of the country.[145] The northwestern parts of the plateau consist of broad, rolling terrain broken by low, rounded hills.[145]

The southeastern section is more rugged, with a complex mass of ridges and mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).[145] These ranges include the Mantiqueira and Espinhaço mountains and the Serra do Mar.[145] In the north, the Guiana Highlands form a major drainage divide, separating rivers that flow south into the Amazon Basin from rivers that empty into the Orinoco River system, in Venezuela, to the north. The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina at 2,994 metres (9,823 ft), and the lowest is the Atlantic Ocean.[14]

Brazil has a dense and complex system of rivers, one of the world's most extensive, with eight major drainage basins, all of which drain into the Atlantic.[146] Major rivers include the Amazon (the world's second-longest river and the largest in terms of volume of water), the Paraná and its major tributary the Iguaçu (which includes the Iguazu Falls), the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and Tapajós rivers.[146]

An equatorial climate characterizes much of northern Brazil. There is no real dry season, but there are some variations in the period of the year when most rain falls.[147] Temperatures average 25 °C (77 °F),[149] with more significant temperature variation between night and day than between seasons.[148]

Over central Brazil rainfall is more seasonal, characteristic of a savanna climate.[148] This region is as extensive as the Amazon basin but has a very different climate as it lies farther south at a higher altitude.[147] In the interior northeast, seasonal rainfall is even more extreme. The semiarid climatic region generally receives less than 800 millimetres (31.5 in) of rain,[150] most of which generally falls in a period of three to five months of the year[151] and occasionally less than this, creating long periods of drought.[148] Brazil's 1877–78 Grande Seca (Great Drought), the worst in Brazil's history,[152] caused approximately half a million deaths.[153] A similarly devastating drought occurred in 1915.[154]

South of Bahia, near the coasts, and more southerly most of the state of São Paulo, the distribution of rainfall changes, with rain falling throughout the year.[147] The south enjoys subtropical conditions, with cool winters and average annual temperatures not exceeding 18 °C (64.4 °F);[149] winter frosts and snowfall are not rare in the highest areas.[147][148]

Larger mammals include carnivores pumas, jaguars, ocelots, rare bush dogs, and foxes, and herbivores peccaries, tapirs, anteaters, sloths, opossums, and armadillos. Deer are plentiful in the south, and many species of New World monkeys are found in the northern rain forests.[156][157] Concern for the environment has grown in response to global interest in environmental issues.[158] Brazil's Amazon Basin is home to an extremely diverse array of fish species, including the red-bellied piranha. Despite its reputation as a ferocious freshwater fish, the red-bellied piranha is actually a generally timid scavenger. Biodiversity can contribute to agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries extraction. However, almost all economically exploited species of plants, such as soybeans and coffee, or animals, such as chickens, are imported from other countries, and the economic use of native species still crawls. In the Brazilian GDP, the forest sector represents just over 1% and fishing 0.4%.

The natural heritage of Brazil is severely threatened by cattle ranching and agriculture, logging, mining, resettlement, oil and gas extraction, over-fishing, wildlife trade, dams and infrastructure, water pollution, climate change, fire, and invasive species.[155] In many areas of the country, the natural environment is threatened by development.[159] Construction of highways has opened up previously remote areas for agriculture and settlement; dams have flooded valleys and inundated wildlife habitats; and mines have scarred and polluted the landscape.[158][160] At least 70 dams are said to be planned for the Amazon region, including the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.[161]

The Brazilian Federation is the "indissoluble union" of the States, the Municipalities and the Federal District.[16] The Union, the states and the Federal District, and the municipalities, are the "spheres of government". The federation is set on five fundamental principles:[16] sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of human beings, the social values of labour and freedom of enterprise, and political pluralism. The classic tripartite branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial under a checks and balances system) are formally established by the Constitution.[16] The executive and legislative are organized independently in all three spheres of government, while the judiciary is organized only at the federal and state/Federal District spheres.

All members of the executive and legislative branches are directly elected.[164][165][166] Judges and other judicial officials are appointed after passing entry exams.[164] For most of its democratic history, Brazil has had a multi-party system, proportional representation. Voting is compulsory for the literate between 18 and 70 years old and optional for illiterates and those between 16 and 18 or beyond 70.[16]

Together with several smaller parties, four political parties stand out: Workers' Party (PT), Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) and Democrats (DEM). Fifteen political parties are represented in Congress. It is common for politicians to switch parties, and thus the proportion of congressional seats held by particular parties changes regularly.[167] Almost all governmental and administrative functions are exercised by authorities and agencies affiliated to the Executive.

Law

Brazilian law is based on Roman-Germanic[not in citation given] traditions[168] and civil law concepts prevail over common law practice. Most of Brazilian law is codified, although non-codified statutes also represent a substantial part, playing a complementary role. Court decisions set out interpretive guidelines; however, they are seldom binding on other specific cases. Doctrinal works and the works of academic jurists have strong influence in law creation and in law cases.

The legal system is based on the Federal Constitution, which was promulgated on 5 October 1988, and is the fundamental law of Brazil. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules.[169] As of April 2007[update], there have been 53 amendments. States have their own constitutions, which must not contradict the Federal Constitution.[170] Municipalities and the Federal District have "organic laws" (leis orgânicas), which act in a similar way to constitutions.[171] Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary and executive bodies may enact legal norms.[16] Jurisdiction is administered by the judiciary entities, although in rare situations the Federal Constitution allows the Federal Senate to pass on legal judgments.[16] There are also specialized military, labor, and electoral courts.[16] The highest court is the Supreme Federal Court.

This system has been criticized over the last few decades for the slow pace of decision-making. Lawsuits on appeal may take several years to resolve, and in some cases more than a decade elapses before definitive rulings.[172] Nevertheless, the Supreme Federal Tribunal was the first court in the world to transmit its sessions on television, and also via YouTube.[173][174] More recently, in December 2009, the Supreme Court adopted Twitter to display items on the day planner of the ministers, to inform the daily actions of the Court and the most important decisions made by them.[175]

Numbering close to 236,000 active personnel,[178] the Brazilian Army has the largest number of armored vehicles in South America, including armored transports and tanks[179] It is also unique in Latin America for its large, elite forces specializing in unconventional missions, the Brazilian Special Operations Command,[180][181][182] and the versatile Strategic Rapid Action Force, made up of highly mobilized and prepared (Special Operations Brigade, Infantry Brigade Parachutist,[183][184] 1st Jungle Infantry Battalion (Airmobile)[185] and 12th Brigade Light Infantry (Airmobile)[186] to act anywhere in the country, in short time, the external aggression hypothesis.[187] The states' Military Police and the Military Firefighters Corps are described as an ancillary forces of the Army by the constitution, but are under the control of each state's governor.[16] The Navy once operated some of the most powerful warships in the world with the two Minas Geraes-classdreadnoughts, which sparked a South American dreadnought race between Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.[188] Today, it is a green water force and has a group of specialized elite in retaking ships and naval facilities, GRUMEC, unit specially trained to protect Brazilian oil platforms along its coast.[189] It's the only navy in Latin America that operates an aircraft carrier, NAe São Paulo,[190] and one of the ten navies of the world to operate this type of ship.[179] The Air Force, it is the largest in Latin America has about 700 manned aircraft in service and effective about 67 thousand military.[191]

Brazil has not been invaded since 1865 during the Paraguayan War.[192] Additionally, Brazil has no contested territorial disputes with any of its neighbours[193] and neither does it have rivalries, like Chile and Bolivia have with each other.[194][195] The Brazilian military has also three times intervened militarily to overthrow the Brazilian government.[196] It has built a tradition of participating in UN peacekeeping missions such as in Haiti and East Timor.[197]

An increasingly well-developed tool of Brazil's foreign policy is providing aid as a donor to other developing countries.[202] Brazil does not just use its growing economic strength to provide financial aid, but it also provides high levels of expertise and most importantly of all, a quiet non-confrontational diplomacy to improve governance levels.[202] Total aid is estimated to be around $1 billion per year that includes:[202]

technical cooperation of around $480 million ($30 million in 2010 provided directly by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC))

an estimated $450 million for in-kind expertise provided by Brazilian institutions specialising in technical cooperation

In addition, Brazil manages a peacekeeping mission in Haiti ($350 million) and makes in-kind contributions to the World Food Programme ($300 million).[202] This is in addition to humanitarian assistance and contributions to multilateral development agencies. The scale of this aid places it on par with China and India.[202] The Brazilian South-South aid has been described as a "global model in waiting."[203]

The country still has above-average levels of violent crime and particularly high levels of gun violence and homicide. In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the number of 32 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest rates of intentional homicide of the world.[205] The number considered tolerable by the WHO is about 10 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.[206] However, there are differences between the crime rates in the Brazilian states. While in São Paulo the homicide rate registered in 2013 was 10.8 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, in Alagoas it was 64.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.[207]

Brazil also has high levels of incarceration and the third largest prison population in the world (behind only China and the United States), with an estimated total of approximately 700,000 prisoners around the country (June 2014), an increase of about 300% compared to the index registered in 1992.[208] The high number of prisoners eventually overloaded the Brazilian prison system, leading to a shortfall of about two hundred thousand accommodations.[209]

Brazil is a federation composed of 26 States, one Federal district (which contains the capital city, Brasília) and Municipalities.[16] States have autonomous administrations, collect their own taxes and receive a share of taxes collected by the Federal government. They have a governor and a unicameral legislative body elected directly by their voters. They also have independent Courts of Law for common justice. Despite this, states have much less autonomy to create their own laws than in the United States. For example, criminal and civil laws can be voted by only the federal bicameral Congress and are uniform throughout the country.[16]

The states and the federal district may be grouped into regions: Northern, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and Southern. The Brazilian regions are merely geographical, not political or administrative divisions, and they do not have any specific form of government. Although defined by law, Brazilian regions are useful mainly for statistical purposes, and also to define the distribution of federal funds in development projects.

Municipalities, as the states, have autonomous administrations, collect their own taxes and receive a share of taxes collected by the Union and state government.[16] Each has a mayor and an elected legislative body, but no separate Court of Law. Indeed, a Court of Law organized by the state can encompass many municipalities in a single justice administrative division called comarca (county).

Its GDP (PPP) per capita was $15,048 in 2016[7] putting Brazil in the 77th position according to IMF data. Active in agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors Brazil has a labor force of over a 107 million (ranking 6th worldwide) and unemployment of 6.2% (ranking 64th worldwide).[211]

Brazil received an International Monetary Fund rescue package in mid-2002 of $30.4 billion,[219] then a record sum. Brazil's central bank paid back the IMF loan in 2005, although it was not due to be repaid until 2006.[220] One of the issues the Central Bank of Brazil recently dealt with was an excess of speculative short-term capital inflows to the country, which may have contributed to a fall in the value of the U.S. dollar against the real during that period.[221] Nonetheless, foreign direct investment (FDI), related to long-term, less speculative investment in production, is estimated to be $193.8 billion for 2007.[222] Inflation monitoring and control currently plays a major part in the Central bank's role of setting out short-term interest rates as a monetary policy measure.[223]

Between 1993 and 2010, 7012 mergers & acquisitions with a total known value of $707 billion with the involvement of Brazilian firms have been announced.[224] The year 2010 was a new record in terms of value with 115 billion USD of transactions. The largest transaction with involvement of Brazilian companies has been: Cia Vale do Rio Doce acquired Inco in a tender offer valued at US$18.9 billion.

Corruption costs Brazil almost $41 billion a year alone, with 69.9% of the country's firms identifying the issue as a major constraint in successfully penetrating the global market.[225] Local government corruption is so prevalent that voters perceive it as a problem only if it surpasses certain levels, and only if a local media e.g. a radio station is present to divulge the findings of corruption charges.[226] Initiatives, like this exposure, strengthen awareness which is indicated by the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index; ranking Brazil 69th out of 178 countries in 2012.[227] The purchasing power in Brazil is eroded by the so-called Brazil cost.[228]

Tourism in Brazil is a growing sector and key to the economy of several regions of the country. The country had 5 million visitors in 2010, ranking in terms of international tourist arrivals as the second destination in South America, and third in Latin America after Mexico and Argentina. Revenues from international tourists reached US$6 billion in 2010, showing a recovery from the 2008–2009 economic crisis.[237] Historical records of 5.4 million visitors and US$6.8 billion in receipts were reached in 2011.[238][239]

In terms of the 2015 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which is a measurement of the factors that make it attractive to develop business in the travel and tourism industry of individual countries, Brazil ranked in the 28st place at the world's level, third in the Americas, after Canada and United States.[241][242] Brazil's main competitive advantages are its natural resources, which ranked 1st on this criteria out of all countries considered, and ranked 23rd for its cultural resources, due to its many World Heritage sites. The TTCI report notes Brazil's main weaknesses: its ground transport infrastructure remains underdeveloped (ranked 116th), with the quality of roads ranking in 105th place; and the country continues to suffer from a lack of price competitiveness (ranked 114th), due in part to high ticket taxes and airport charges, as well as high prices and high taxation. Safety and security have improved significantly: 75th in 2011, up from 128th in 2008.[242]

According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), international travel to Brazil accelerated in 2000, particularly during 2004 and 2005. However, in 2006 a slow-down took place, and international arrivals had almost no growth in 2007–08.[243][244][245] In spite of this trend, revenues from international tourism continued to rise, from USD 4 billion in 2005 to 5 billion in 2007, despite 330 000 fewer arrivals. This favorable trend is the result of the strong devaluation of the US dollar against the Brazilian Real, which began in 2004, but which makes Brazil a more expensive international destination.[246] This trend changed in 2009, when both visitors and revenues fell as a result of the Great Recession of 2008–09.[247] By 2010, the industry had recovered, and arrivals grew above 2006 levels to 5.2 million international visitors, and receipts from these visitors reached USD 6 billion.[237] In 2011 the historical record was reached with 5.4 million visitors and US$6.8 billion in receipts.[238][239]

Despite continuing record-breaking international tourism revenues, the number of Brazilian tourists travelling overseas has been growing steadily since 2003, resulting in a net negative foreign exchange balance, as more money is spent abroad by Brazilians than comes in as receipts from international tourists visiting Brazil. Tourism expenditures abroad grew from USD 5.8 billion in 2006, to USD 8.2 billion in 2007, a 42% increase, representing a net deficit of USD 3.3 billion in 2007, as compared to USD 1.5 billion in 2006, a 125% increase from the previous year.[248] This trend is caused by Brazilians taking advantage of the stronger Real to travel and making relatively cheaper expenditures abroad.[248] Brazilians traveling overseas in 2006 represented 4% of the country's population.[249]

In 2005, tourism contributed with 3.2% of the country's revenues from exports of goods and services, and represented 7% of direct and indirect employment in the Brazilian economy.[250] In 2006 direct employment in the sector reached 1.9 million people.[251] Domestic tourism is a fundamental market segment for the industry, as 51 million people traveled throughout the country in 2005,[252] and direct revenues from Brazilian tourists reached USD 22 billion,[253] 5.6 times more receipts than international tourists in 2005.

The country is also a pioneer in the search for oil in deep water, from where extracts 73% of its reserves. Uranium is enriched at the Resende Nuclear Fuel Factory, mostly for research purposes (as Brazil obtains 88% from its electricity from hydroelectricity[260]) and the country's first nuclear submarine will be delivered in 2015 (by France).[261] Brazil is one of the three countries in Latin America[262] with an operational Synchrotron Laboratory, a research facility on physics, chemistry, material science and life sciences. And Brazil is the only Latin American country to have a semiconductor company with its own fabrication plant, the CEITEC.[263] According to the Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010 of the World Economic Forum, Brazil is the 61 world's largest developer of information technology.[264]

Brazilian roads are the primary carriers of freight and passenger traffic. The road system totaled 1.98 million km (1.23 million mi) in 2002. The total of paved roads increased from 35,496 km (22,056 mi) (22,056 mi) in 1967 to 184,140 km (114,419 mi) (114,425 mi) in 2002.[276]

The country has an extensive rail network of 28,538 kilometres (17,733 miles) in length, the tenth largest network in the world.[8] Currently, the Brazilian government, unlike the past, seeks to encourage this mode of transport; an example of this incentive is the project of the Rio–São Paulo high-speed rail, that will connect the two main cities of the country to carry passengers.

There are about 2,500 airports in Brazil, including landing fields: the second largest number in the world, after the United States.[281]São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, near São Paulo, is the largest and busiest airport with nearly 20 million passengers annually, while handling the vast majority of commercial traffic for the country.[282]

For freight transport waterways are of importance, e.g. the industrial zones of Manaus can be reached only by means of the Solimões- Amazonas waterway (3,250 kilometres (2,020 miles) with 6 metres (20 feet) minimum depth). The country also has 50,000 kilometres (31,000 miles) of waterways.[8]

Coastal shipping links widely separated parts of the country. Bolivia and Paraguay have been given free ports at Santos. Of the 36 deep-water ports, Santos, Itajaí, Rio Grande, Paranaguá, Rio de Janeiro, Sepetiba, Vitória, Suape, Manaus and São Francisco do Sul are the most important.[283] Bulk carriers have to wait up to 18 days before being serviced, container ships 36,3 hours on average.[284]

Water supply and sanitation

Among the achievements in the water supply and sanitation sector is an increase in access to water piped on premises from 79% to 92% between 1990 and 2010; an increase in access to Improved sanitation from 68% to 79% in the same period;[285] a functioning national system to finance water and sanitation infrastructure; a high level of cost recovery compared to most other developing countries; as well as a number of notable technical and financial innovations such as Condominial sewerage and an output-based subsidy for treated wastewater called PRODES.

Among the challenges is the still high number of poor Brazilians living in urban slums (Favela) and in rural areas without access to piped water or sanitation; water scarcity in the Northeast of Brazil; water pollution, especially in the South-East of the country; the low share of collected wastewater that is being treated (35% in 2000); and long-standing tensions between the federal, state and municipal governments about their respective roles in the sector.

Health

The Brazilian public health system, the National Health System (SUS), is managed and provided by all levels of government.[286] The public health services are universal and available to all citizens of the country for free. Nevertheless, millions of affluent Brazilians have private health care coverage.[287]

Education

The Federal Constitution and the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education determine that the Federal Government, States, Federal District and municipalities must manage and organize their respective education systems. Each of these public educational systems is responsible for its own maintenance, which manages funds as well as the mechanisms and funding sources. The constitution reserves 25% of the state budget and 18% of federal taxes and municipal taxes for education.[290]

According to the IBGE, in 2011, the literacy rate of the population was 90.4%, meaning that 13 million (9.6% of population) people are still illiterate in the country; functional illiteracy has reached 21.6% of the population.[291] Illiteracy is highest in the Northeast, where 19.9% of the population is illiterate.[292]

Higher education starts with undergraduate or sequential courses, which may offer different options of specialization in academic or professional careers. Depending on the choice, students can improve their educational background with courses of post-graduate studies or broad sense. To attend a higher education institution is required, by Law of Guidelines and Bases of Education, completing all levels of education suited to the needs of all students of teaching kindergarten, elementary and medium, provided the student does not hold any disability, whether physical, mental, visual or hearing.

The Brazilian press has its beginnings in 1808 with the arrival of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil, hitherto forbidden any activity of the press – was the publication of newspapers or books. The Brazilian press was officially born in Rio de Janeiro on 13 May 1808, with the creation of the Royal Printing, National Press by the Prince RegentDom João.[294]

Radio broadcasting began on 7 September 1922, with a speech by then President Pessoa, and was formalized on 20 April 1923 with the creation of "Radio Society of Rio de Janeiro."[297]

Television in Brazil began officially on 18 September 1950, with the founding of TV Tupi by Assis Chateaubriand.[298] Since then television has grown in the country, creating large public networks such as Globo, SBT, Record and Bandeirantes. Today it is the most important factor in popular culture of Brazilian society, indicated by research showing that as much as 67%[299][300] of the general population follow the same daily soap opera broadcast. Digital Television, using the SBTVD standard (based on the Japanese standard ISDB-T), was adopted 29 June 2006 and launched on 2 November 2007.[301] In May 2010, Brazil launched TV Brasil Internacional, an international television station, initially broadcasting to 49 countries.[302]

Demographics

The population of Brazil, as recorded by the 2008 PNAD, was approximately 190 million[303] (22.31 inhabitants per square kilometre or 57.8/sq mi), with a ratio of men to women of 0.95:1[304] and 83.75% of the population defined as urban.[305] The population is heavily concentrated in the Southeastern (79.8 million inhabitants) and Northeastern (53.5 million inhabitants) regions, while the two most extensive regions, the Center-West and the North, which together make up 64.12% of the Brazilian territory, have a total of only 29.1 million inhabitants.

The first census in Brazil was carried out in 1872 and recorded a population of 9,930,478.[306] From 1880 to 1930, 4 million Europeans arrived.[307] Brazil's population increased significantly between 1940 and 1970, because of a decline in the mortality rate, even though the birth rate underwent a slight decline. In the 1940s the annual population growth rate was 2.4%, rising to 3.0% in the 1950s and remaining at 2.9% in the 1960s, as life expectancy rose from 44 to 54 years[308] and to 72.6 years in 2007.[309] It has been steadily falling since the 1960s, from 3.04% per year between 1950 and 1960 to 1.05% in 2008 and is expected to fall to a negative value of –0.29% by 2050[310] thus completing the demographic transition.[311]

In 2008, the illiteracy rate was 11.48%[312] and among the youth (ages 15–19) 1.74%. It was highest (20.30%) in the Northeast, which had a large proportion of rural poor.[313] Illiteracy was high (24.18%) among the rural population and lower (9.05%) among the urban population.[314]

Race and ethnicity

According to the National Research by Household Sample (PNAD) of 2008, 48.43% of the population (about 92 million) described themselves as White; 43.80% (about 83 million) as Pardo (brown), 6.84% (about 13 million) as Black; 0.58% (about 1.1 million) as Asian; and 0.28% (about 536 thousand) as Amerindian (officially called indígena, Indigenous), while 0.07% (about 130 thousand) did not declare their race.[315]

Since the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500, considerable miscegenation between Amerindians, Europeans, and Africans has taken place in all regions of the country (with European ancestry being dominant nationwide according to the vast majority of all autosomal studies undertaken covering the entire population, accounting for between 65% to 77%).[320][321][322][323]

The brown population (officially called pardo in Portuguese, also colloquially moreno)[329][330] is a broad category that includes caboclos (assimilated Amerindians in general, and descendants of Whites and Natives), mulatos (descendants of primarily Whites and Afro-Brazilians) and cafuzos (descendants of Afro-Brazilians and Natives).[329][330][331][332][333] People of considerable Amerindian ancestry form the majority of the population in the Northern, Northeastern and Center-Western regions.[334]

Religion in Brazil formed from the meeting of the Catholic Church with the religious traditions of enslaved African peoples and indigenous peoples.[341] This confluence of faiths during the Portuguese colonization of Brazil led to the development of a diverse array of syncretistic practices within the overarching umbrella of Brazilian Catholic Church, characterized by traditional Portuguese festivities,[342] and in some instances, Allan Kardec's Spiritism (a religion which incorporates elements of spiritualism and Christianity). Religious pluralism increased during the 20th century,[343] and the Protestant community has grown to include over 22% of the population.[344] The most common Protestant denominations are Pentecostal and Evangelical ones. Other Protestant branches with a notable presence in the country include the Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, Lutherans and the Reformed tradition.[345]

Roman Catholicism is the country's predominant faith. Brazil has the world's largest Catholic population.[346] According to the 2000 Demographic Census (the PNAD survey does not inquire about religion), 73.57% of the population followed Roman Catholicism; 15.41% Protestantism; 1.33% Kardecist spiritism; 1.22% other Christian denominations; 0.31% Afro-Brazilian religions; 0.13% Buddhism; 0.05% Judaism; 0.02% Islam; 0.01% Amerindian religions; 0.59% other religions, undeclared or undetermined; while 7.35% have no religion.[347]

However, in the last ten years Protestantism, particularly Pentecostalism and Evangelicalism, has spread in Brazil, while the proportion of Catholics has dropped significantly.[348] After Protestantism, individuals professing no religion are also a significant group, exceeding 7% of the population as of the 2000 census. The cities of Boa Vista, Salvador, and Porto Velho have the greatest proportion of Irreligious residents in Brazil. Teresina, Fortaleza, and Florianópolis were the most Roman Catholic in the country.[349]Greater Rio de Janeiro, not including the city proper, is the most irreligious and least Roman Catholic Brazilian periphery, while Greater Porto Alegre and Greater Fortaleza are on the opposite sides of the lists, respectively.[349]

Urbanization

According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) urban areas already concentrate 84.35% of the population, while the Southeast region remains the most populated one, with over 80 million inhabitants.[350] The largest metropolitan areas in Brazil are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte — all in the Southeastern Region — with 19.5, 11.5, and 5.1 million inhabitants respectively.[351] The majority of state capitals are the largest cities in their states, except for Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo, and Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina. There are also non-capital metropolitan areas in the states of São Paulo (Campinas, Santos and the Paraíba Valley), Minas Gerais (Steel Valley), Rio Grande do Sul (Sinos Valley) and Santa Catarina (Itajaí Valley).[352]

Language

The official language of Brazil is Portuguese[354] (Article 13 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil), which almost all of the population speaks and is virtually the only language used in newspapers, radio, television, and for business and administrative purposes. The most famous exception to this is a strong sign language law that was passed by the National Congress of Brazil. Legally recognized in 2002,[355] the law was regulated in 2005.[356] The law mandates the use of the Brazilian Sign Language, more commonly known by its Portuguese acronym LIBRAS, in education and government services. The language must be taught as a part of the education and speech and language pathology curricula. LIBRAS teachers, instructors and translators are recognized professionals. Schools and health services must provide access ("inclusion") to deaf people.[357]

Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity and giving it a national culture distinct from those of its Spanish-speaking neighbors.[360]

In 1990, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), which included representatives from all countries with Portuguese as the official language, reached an agreement on the reform of the Portuguese orthography to unify the two standards then in use by Brazil on one side and the remaining lusophone countries on the other. This spelling reform went into effect in Brazil on 1 January 2009. In Portugal, the reform was signed into law by the President on 21 July 2008 allowing for a 6-year adaptation period, during which both orthographies will co-exist. The remaining CPLP countries are free to establish their own t